Members of Sheriff’s Office honored

Tuesday

Mar 5, 2013 at 12:01 AM

Emergency responders dropped everything and rushed to a home in northern Tuscaloosa County last spring after receiving a 911 call that a 2-year-old had fallen into a pool. “This incident is an example of a team effort provided by the quick actions of the mother and the emergency responders in Tuscaloosa County,” Sheriff Ted Sexton said at a ceremony Monday to honor members of the Sheriff’s Office for their accomplishments in 2012 and the first months of 2013.

By Stephanie TaylorStaff Writer

Emergency responders dropped everything and rushed to a home in northern Tuscaloosa County last spring after receiving a 911 call that a 2-year-old had fallen into a pool.The mother, a nurse, had started CPR by the time paramedics and Tuscaloosa County sheriff’s deputies arrived. Deputy Keith Fair and Cpl. Keith Hamner were among the responders who administered care to the young girl, who was treated at Children’s of Alabama hospital in Birmingham. She made a full recovery.“This incident is an example of a team effort provided by the quick actions of the mother and the emergency responders in Tuscaloosa County,” Sheriff Ted Sexton said at a ceremony Monday to honor members of the Sheriff’s Office for their accomplishments in 2012 and the first months of 2013.Several detention officers were honored for their lifesaving efforts. - On Aug. 14, Tuscaloosa County Jail inmates alerted detention officers that an inmate had tried to hang himself in a shower. Detention officers Joseph O’Bryant, Dennis Williamson, Edward Hughes, Richard Evans, Willis Wright and nurse Latonia Lee lifted the inmate, removed an object from around his neck and lowered him to the floor. The inmate was unconscious and had no pulse. O’Bryant administered CPR until jail medical staff arrived with an automated external defibrillator. The inmate spent several weeks at DCH Regional Medical Center, with an initial diagnosis of little or no hope of recovery, the sheriff said. “Due to the quick and decisive actions of Officer O’Bryant in the beginning CPR and the medical assistance received, the inmate has made a full recovery,” he said.O’Bryant was voted Detention Officer of the Year by jail administrators and staff. - Deputy Richard Black and Deputy Martha Hocutt are credited with saving the life of a Northside High School teacher who suffered a stroke on Jan. 8. Black started intravenous therapy and administered medication before an ambulance arrived. The teacher wrote a letter to Sexton, crediting the deputies with saving her. “Getting immediate medical attention for this condition is paramount to surviving and lessening the damage done,” he said.- On Jan. 24, deputies received a call that an elderly woman had accidentally started a fire off Mormon Road. The woman was driving across a pasture when a spark from under her car started a blaze. She was unable to extinguish the fire. Her son, who had been mowing the pasture at the time, called Warrior Real Estate for help. A Realtor there was able to direct deputies to the pasture, which is a half mile off Mormon Road and has no address, while the mother and son made it to safety. Deputies Keith Hamner, Richard Black and Saben Ashby helped firefighters extinguish the fire and move the vehicle out of the burning field.“These deputies are commended for their brave actions and their service to the citizens of Tuscaloosa County,” Sexton said .- Deputy Charles Grantham and his bloodhound, Foxy, were honored for finding a 72-year-old woman with dementia who wandered from her home off Hargrove Road East. Foxy smelled a piece of the woman’s clothing and tracked her to a wooded area behind her home.“Deputy Grantham is commended for his determination and commitment to utilizing the bloodhound which resulted in this successful outcome,” Sexton said.-Deputy Mike Marlowe was commended for tracking a murder suspect who had not appeared in court in May 2012. The U.S. Marshals Task Force sought help from the Tuscaloosa Sheriff’s Office when searching for Willie Lockett, who was accused of murder in Sumter County. “Deputy Marlowe developed information that led to the location of Lockett within three hours. He is commended for his quick actions in helping get a murder suspect extradited back to Sumter County in a timely fashion,” Sexton said.- Deputy Jerometh Billups was commended for capturing theft and robbery suspects in November and for helping seize marijuana and cash in a separate case.On Nov. 6, Billups noticed a vehicle at Branscomb Apartments that had been reported stolen by the Tuscaloosa Police Department. The occupants were arrested and charged with several thefts and robberies in the area. Billups investigated a case in the Jerusalem Heights neighborhood after learning that a resident was selling drugs. His investigation resulted in an arrest and the recovery of marijuana and cash, Sexton said.“Billups keeps himself informed, knows the communities he patrols and follows up on complaints and leads,” Sexton said.- Janice Bendolph, the department’s point person for the department’s Community Outreach Program, is the cook for the Tuscaloosa County Jail and facilitates catering for department functions and monthly police and fire chief meetings. While off-duty, Bendolph advocates for the department in community organization and is involved at Mount Galilee Baptist Church. “Ms. Bendolph is commended for her hospitality, availability and dependability,” Sexton said.- Deputy Darren Strong was commended for his actions on Dec. 23, 2011, when he returned fire at a robbery suspect near Sumners Grocery in Holt. Barry Mullenix Jr. had stolen cash and a handgun from the store, and fired at Strong, striking him in the femoral artery. Strong fired back, fatally striking him in the chest.Strong was honored for his “alertness and quick actions, which possibly prevented others from being harmed,” Sexton said. He was also awarded the National Sheriff’s Association’s Medal of Valor and Purple Heart.- At the end of the program, Chief Deputy Ron Abernathy presented awards to Sexton and his son, Edmund Sexton Jr.“They declined to be recognized when awards were originally presented,” last year, Abernathy said. “Many in our office wish to correct this matter.”The Sextons were flagged down by two young women on 15th Street and Fourth Avenue East during the immediate aftermath of the April 27, 2011, tornado. Their friend was trapped inside a house.“Without regard for their own safety, the sheriff and Edmund entered the home, which had been devastated, and were able to free the victim, who sustained a serious injury,” Abernathy said.They returned to a nearby residence, also destroyed, and freed a man whose face had been seriously injured. They went on to assist other deputies and paramedics who used hand jacks to pull a man from under a home on Shaw Drive and to help many others to safety in the Holt area that night.